Flowing with Zen: Exploring Empowering the Intangible Cultural Heritage via Immersive Mixed Reality Spaces

Zen is a treasure of the world's intangible cultural heritage (ICH), but nowadays it is facing difficulties in dissemination. This paper presents an immersive experience space Flowing with Zen by integrating HCI technology and mixed reality (MR). Audiences can explore and interact with the four scenarios, as well as meditate, and experience Zen philosophy. The pilot study shows that the MR space not only evokes users' interest and participation but also deepens their empathy or reflections. This innovative way of combining MR, ICH, and experience enhances the accessibility of Zen, and it may open up a new mode of dissemination for ICH.